Traditional towing technologies have incorporated various types of coupling devices, which may traditionally be referred to as a hitch, or hitches, for the coupling of a trailer to a source of towing power. Hitches may generally be considered implements in a broad field potentially including a coupling portion associated with a source of towing power and a coupling portion associated with the trailer to be towed. A hitch configuration may generally be considered as having portions that are associated with the “tow-side” and portions that are associated with a “towed-side”. The implements that are usually associated with the “tow-side” are generally known as “receiver hitches”; these are fixedly attached to the tow vehicle and accept “towed-side” hitch implements such as a “ball mount” (that slides into the “receiver hitch” and accepts the “tow ball”). Other examples include pintle hook type, or tow bar and pin, among other implements. The implements that are generally used on the “towed-side” are tow ball couplers, pintle rings, and tow bars with bar slots for attachment to the “tow vehicle”, among others.
Hitch technology can include various hitch configurations, and may include bumper pull or tongue configurations, pintle configurations, farm implement type configurations, as well as other hitch configurations. The hitch may have one or more couple portions such as one or more receivers, inserts, pins, balls, rings, hooks, bars, tubes, bumpers, plates plugs, tongues, chains, plain or threaded rods, turnbuckles, chain links, devises, or other such couplings.
Receiver hitches use plates that are attached to the bottom or side of vehicle frames and usually have a cross member between the two frame plates of box tube or round pipe that is unsupported in the middle. This cross tube or pipe carries the pull load from the towed implement and must be sized to accept a maximum deflection from this force. This cross tube must also carry the towed implements “tongue load” that is applied to the hitch cross tube as mostly downward and some upward “torque” of this weight. All of the pull weight, braking weight, downward torque, and upward torque, from these pressures are transferred to the hitch side plates, and then onto the bottom or sides of the vehicle or implement frame members.
In order to hitch a trailer, or other such towed implement, to a truck or other vehicle with a large extended load out to the rear, such as a load of material, or slide in truck camper, or commercial box type unit that extends out to the rear, or other such type load or part of a vehicle that extends out beyond the rear of the truck or vehicle, the hitch receiver (at the end of a receiver tube) located at the rear of the truck or vehicle must be extended out past the load being carried with an extended hitch tube that moves the ball mount or other type of connection, in a rearwards direction for various distances. The truck or vehicle load carrying area could be a truck pick-up bed, a truck flatbed, or a truck or vehicle chassis-cab type with an extended box, a farm implement, military, or other type configuration.
There are various styles of extended hitch tubes, either in single or double configurations, for use in trailer or implement hook-up to a truck or vehicle when the truck or vehicle has an extended load or appurtenance out past the truck or vehicle receiver.
This varying length extended hitch tube, in essence, extends the reach and placement of the ball mount and trailer ball, or other type connection, to the rear past the extended load as detailed above so that the trailer, vehicle, implement, or other towed appliance may be hitched to the truck or vehicle. As can be appreciated, such extension magnifies forces applied by the towed-side load to the tow-side hitch apparatus, and to the vehicle frame at points of connection.
The double style extended receiver hitch tube configuration, although having a high weight carrying capacity, comes with a cost—a cumbersome and quite heavy implement to handle and install, attached lateral chain assemblies that return back to the sides of the truck receiver hitch and attach on a level plain, a lowered second or lower tube of the double tube, resulting in a lowered clearance distance that may cause contact with the underlying surface when driving over rough terrain or into and out of fuel stations, etc. Further, the appearance is also affected by the bulky look, and the attachment systems of chains and turnbuckles are cumbersome and slow to perform.
The single tube style systems do not have the problems as detailed above but do not have the weight carrying capacity and strength that the above style has, nor can they carry the appropriate loads that are required in many cases. It seems one has the choice of a light and convenient system that will not carry the loads that are required or one that does carry the load has the many downsides as detailed above.
Most, if not all of the current style of receiver hitches rely solely on the carrying capacity of the cross tube as the loads are transferred to the receiver hitch side plates, which are then attached to the bottom or sides of the vehicle or implement frame members.
In all the foregoing, the conventional technologies can suffer from various drawbacks, as mentioned. Particular embodiments of the inventive technology seek to resolve one or more of the above mentioned concerns.